3 injured in free-for-all over Ronaldo, Messi in Abakiliki

Three football fans were wounded in a free-for-all in a bar in Abakaliki on Saturday night over an argument about who is the better player between Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal and Lionel Messi of Argentina.
An eyewitness said that the incident occurred at the Kpirikpiri area of the town during the EURO 2016 second round match between Portugal and Croatia.
Portugal won the match 1-0 courtesy of a Ricardo Quaresma 114th minute goal that sent them into the competition’s quarter-finals.
Trouble started when a Ronaldo supporter, identified as Marshal, celebrated wildly as the Real Madrid star’s shot was parried into Quaresma’s path for the goal, to the annoyance of the Messi supporter, named Obinna.
The duo had argued all night over who the better player is between Messi and Ronaldo: the stars play for Spanish clubs, Barcelona FC and Real Madrid FC, respectively.
It was learned that immediately Quaresma scored, Marshal rushed to Obinna and mocked him, chanting “I told you, I told you Ronaldo is the best.” Obinna reportedly pushed Marshal and a fight ensued.Matters, however, got out of hand when Marshal’s friends felt that Obinna’s friends were indirectly aiding him in the fight, thus turning it to a free-for-all.
The bar owner, identified simply as Simon, rushed outside to invite people within the compound as those inside could not control the situation.
However, calm was eventually restored but three persons, including Obinna, were seriously wounded, while Simon immediately closed before the match ended.
Simon said that both fans always argued on the issue of superiority between Real Madrid and Barcelona.
He said: “I banned them from coming to my shop, but this is their first visit since the commencement of the competition.
“It took the intervention of others inside the shop for me to allow them in, as I was sure that their antagonism towards each other goes beyond Ronaldo and Messi supremacy issue.”
Deputy Superintendent of Police George Okafor, the State Police Command’s Public Relations Officer, said that the incident had not been officially reported.
He added that the command always dealt with such issues decisively.
“Football hooliganism is a societal malaise as it is only foolish people who indulge in it,” he said.